Flatlanders Barista Cup

PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. will be hosting an international specialty coffee event at it’s company headquarters and Topeka cafe in late October. The first annual Flatlanders Barista Cup will be held from October 26th -29th and will feature visiting coffee producers from Guatemala and El Salvador as well as the 2011 winner of the World Barista Championship.

Event attendance by the general public is free. Only 30 barista competitor spots are available.

Featured Baristas

The Flatlanders Barista Cup will be a team competition event with 30 baristas divided into six teams. It will open with a gathering the evening of Friday, October 26th at PT’s Coffee Roasting Co.’s cafe, located at 17th and Washburn. The competition begins on Saturday at PT’s Coffee headquarters, with presentations by Lucia Ortiz from Finca Las Mercedes and Sergio Ticas from Finca Los Planes in El Salvador, and Juan Diego de la Cerda from Finca El Socorro in Guatemala as well as a presentation about coffee competition by 2011 World Barista Champion Alejandro Mendez. The first scoring event, a Triangulation Cupping, will also take place.

That evening, the Saturday Night Live Barista Throwdown will be held at the cafe. It will be followed by a second latte art competition, open to the public with a $5 buy in. There will also be live music and a firkin from Tallgrass Brewery. On Sunday, the teams will cup and blend their own espresso, featuring the coffees from the farms of the producers attending the event. Each team’s final presentation will include preparing an espresso and a cappuccino for each member of the judging panel, as well as a short oral essay about the composition of their blend. The winning team will receive a Reg Barber designed trophy at the awards ceremony.

All of these events are open to the public and PT’s will provide tours of it’s recently updated roasting facility on Sunday, October 28th.